the pbs "newshour" special coverage of the 2012 republican national convention. i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: i'm gwen ifill. coming up, two of tonight's marquee speakers, ann romney and new jersey cover chris christie. first we have grinch gingrich, david brooks and mark shields with us. first, artur brooks on the floor, what didou think of that? >> first, i thought artur was quite good. we've had three jokes tonight, i think he told all through. i don't get the whole ted cruz thing. i thought the hands thing, i was from his iowa victory speech, but it is a very good device. >> i just think that really artur davis gave the best critique of how obama failed on his own terms. it was a very sympathetic thing, look, i believed in all this. i wanted it to work.

and then explains sort of step by step what the gap is between promise and performance. i thought it was a very effective. i wouldn't be surprised to see that show up as an ad. >> ifill: mark? >> i thought davis was the most effective speaker of the evening, particularly when he did that $60 tank of gas, which every american can identify with. i do want to make the point that the republican party is an increasingly white party at a time when the nation is getting less white. 45% of voters under the age of 22 are non-white. the republican party is 89% white. we have seen the exceptions and the aberrations tonightment they do have two african american han congress. but this is -- what ha is an appeal to show that we are a diverse party to try to win suburban votes. that's what this is about. >> we're almost certainly going to pick up a third african

american ironically from utah. i think almost certainly going to win. it's also true that we're doing the right thing. the fact is we're saying at a leadership level we want to be a part of it that reaches out and you're watching tonight an indian-american woman, you have every time we bring somebody out we have compelly out earlier not a women's part we have lots of women in elected office we're not really minority party. some point the question is, do all the african-americans all the latina, is that buy gasoline pick up your message? $60 a tank i'm not going to be for obama. >> is it a party that listens to your messages in the primary about hispanics, which was a more magnanimous message was rejected by the nominee. basically by the party itself

which has platform that is restrictive and punitive for an immigrant. >> i think you're going to see as you just saw tonight with ted cruz and we with susan that martinez. to satay the latina community, at what point does expensive gasoline become acceptable. i think we're going to do much better than people think because i think consumers of all backgrounds are smart and currently not getting a very good product. >> woodruff: why do you think that message has not gotten across? the polls are still showing democrats, the president is running about two to one ahead with hispanics. >> in part because you haven't seen the kind of concerted effort you're going to see in latino media. i suspect you're going to see michael baranes pointed out again, september and october in virtually every western country

is a conserve advertising period. you see people move if i was the president or either tied or barely ahead i would not be very comfortable going in to labor day. he's about where jimmy carter -- carter was further ahead than he is right now. >> we've heard astonishing about mitt romney. you ran against him some of the toughest debates were against him. what did you learn? how do you evaluate his character? >> he's very smart. he's very tough. he's very disciplined. he thinks strategically. the reference tonight that he would be the first executive since ice an hour i think is correct. i think eisenhower is probably the right analog in how he would function as a president. >> you were pretty tough about him telling lies about you. >> i tell people, i threw the kitchen sink at romney and turned out he had a bigger kitchen.

>> woodruff: that has more than one meaning. >> you look at the florida primary which was the critical point of the campaign. we were just in an overmatched -- the question is going to be, interesting to watch. i don't remember any time that had incumbent president run with fewer resources than the challengers. the next two months, obama will be dramatically outspent. and i think it's a sign of organization fall skill and discipline on the part of the romney team. they have deliberately not tried to compete in june and july and early august. they allowed obama to spend his money. get a little bit ahead if you want foin ohio, in early august you won't be able to sustain it in september and october. >> ifill: having a tough race against mitt romney, what is it that you learned other than he's tough has a bigger kitchen en, that you could advise mitt romney, you could advise barack obama -- >> i want to say this.

i've been in a lot of campaigns over the years. the romney team is the easiest team to work with. once we suspended our campaign, we sat down with his team, they are the easiest team to work with of any presidential campaign. i go back to 1976. they're professional, they're open to ideas, they integrate things. this whole newt university that we've been doing is their idea, they are totally supportive of working together. i've never seen a team this willing to absorb new ideas and approaches. >> ifill: that's -- you've been doing a little schooling down there by -- interesting idea. speaker, newt gingrich. thank you. we've been -- i guess we're in to the final hour of tonight's convention at this point, mrs. ann romney is about to speak. but we see south carolina governor nikki haley at the

lecturn. we'll listen to her before we see the -- she just said good night. going to hear the thank you. >> thanks for stay can. >> ifill: of course we were just mentioning ann romney is first first lady, say warm and wonderful things about her husband, mitt romney. but first going to be introduced by mrs. luce fortuno the first lady of puerto rico. >> good evening, tampa, my name is luce and it is great to be here with you tonight. i am the proud mother of 20-year-old triplets, i'm a practicing attorney, a very proud latina and a diehard republican. [ applause ] i am also the wife of someone we're extremely proud of back home in puerto rico, luis

fortuno. [ applause ] as the governor, he has unleashed a true republican revolution that has already accomplished so much. it is a success story of fiscal responsibility, controlled government spending, lower taxes and pro growth policies. but it is also one of caring and compassionate attention to social and faith-based agenda of unprecedented reach and consequence. through it all, i have stood by his side and learn what it takes to be the support to a great leader. just like our next speaker has done for 43 years for our next president, mitt romney. [applause]

ann's story is one of remarkable perseverance and commitment. a story that stands on its own right, one that inspires all who know her. a woman of faith, a devoted wife, a caring mother to five wows boys, a multiple sclerosis and cancer survivor, a tireless advocate and a timeless first lady of massachusetts. [ applause ] for decades she's been a fighter who has championed the cause of disadvantaged children, been an advocate of teenage pregnancy prevention, a leader of faith and community-based initiatives and ambassador for multiple sclerosis awareness. watching her in a recent visit to puerto rico i marveled at her ability to endear children, connect with the elderly and

engage workers at a farmer's mash coat with such ease, heart and purpose. that made people wonder who was that handsome gentleman next to her. [ laughter ] no wonder she's been mitt romney's secret weapon for 43 years. no wonder mitt calls her his personal hero. ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to in produce to you, my friend and the next first lady of the united states, ann romney! [ cheering and applause ]

>> wow! what a welcome! [ cheering and applause ] thank you and thank you, luce. i can't wait to see what we're going to all do together. this is going to be so exciting! just so you all know that hurricane has hit landfall and

we should all take this moment and recognize the fellow americans are in its path and just hope and pray that all remain safe and no life is lost and no property is lost. we should all be thankful for this great country and grateful for our first responders and all to keep us safe in this wonderful country. [ applause ] well, i want to talk to you tonight -- not about politics and not about party. and while there are many important issues we'll hear discussed in this convention and throughout this campaign, tonight i want to talk to you from my heart about our hearts. >> we love you, ann! >> i want to talk not about what divides us but what holds

us together as an american family. i want to talk to you tonight about that one great thing that unites us, that one great thing that brings us our greatest joy when times are good and the deepest solace in our dark hours. tonight i want to talk to you about love. i want to talk to you about the deep and abiding love i have for a man i met at a dance many years ago. and the profound love i have and i know we share for this country. i want to talk to you about that love so deep, only a mother can fathom it, the love we have for our children and our children's children. and i want us to think tonight about the love we share for those americans, our brothers and our sisters who are going through difficult times.

whose days are never easy, nights are always long and work never seems done. they are here among us tonight in this hall, they are here in neighborhoods across tampa and all across america. the parents who lie awake at night side by side wondering how they will be able to pay the mortgage or make the rent. the single dad who is working extra hours tonight so that his kids can buy some new clothes to go back to school. can take a school trip or play a sport. so it's kids can feel working moms who love their jobs but would like to work just a little less to spend more time with the kids, or how about that couple who like to have another child but wonder how they will afford it. i had been all across this country and i know a lot of you guys. [ applause ]

and i have seen and heard stories of how hard it is to get ahead now. you know what, i've heard your voices, they have said to me i'm running in place we just can't get ahead. sometimes i think that late at night if we were all silent for just a few moments and listen carefully, we can hear a collective sigh from the moms and dads across america who made it through another day. and know that they will make it through another one tomorrow. but in the end of that day moment they just aren't sure how. and if you listen carefully you'll hear the women sighing a little bit more than the men. it's how it is, isn't it? it's the moms who have always had to work a little harder to make everything right. it's the moms of this nation, single, married, widowed, who really hold this country together. we're the mothers, we are the

wives, we're the grandmothers, we're the big sisters, we're the little sisters and we are the daughters. you know it's true, don't you? [ applause ] i love you women! and i hear your voices. there's my -- those are my favorite fans down there. you are the ones that have to do a little bit more and you know what it's like to work a little bit harder to deserve the respect that you deserve at work. then you help with the book report at home because it has to be done. you know what those late night phone calls with an elderly parent are like, the long weekend drives to see how they're doing. you know the fastest route to the local emergency room and which doctors answer the phone calls when you call at night. by the way, i know all about that. you know what it's like to sit

in that graduation ceremony and wonder how it was that so many long days turned to years that went by so quickly. you are the best of america. you -- [ applause ] you are the hope of america. there would not be an america without you. tonight we salute you and sing your praises! i'm not sure if men really understand this, but i don't think there's a woman in america who really expects her life to be easy. in our own ways, we all know better, you know what, that's nine. we don't want easy. but the last few years have been harder than they needed to be. it's all the little things, the price at pump you can't believe.

grocery bills that just get bigger are, all those things that used to be free like school sports are now one more bill to pay. it's all the little things that pile up to become big things and big things, the good jobs, chance of college, that home you want to buy just get harder. everything has become harder. we're too smart to know there aren't easy answers but year not dumb enough to accept that there aren't better answers! [ cheering and applause ] and that is where this boy i met at a high school dance comes in. his name is mitt romney and you should really get to know him! [ applause ] i can tell you why i fell in love with him, he was tall, laughed a lot, he was nervous, girls like that.

shows the guy is a little intimidated. he was nice to my parents but he was also really glad when they weren't around. i don't mind that. but more than anything he made me laugh. some of you might not know this. but i am the granddaughter of a welsh coal miner. he was determined -- he was determined that his kids get out of the mines. my dad got his first job when he was six years old in a little village in wales called nancy hufflan cleaning bottles. when he was 15 dad came to america, in our country he saw hope and an opportunity to escape from poverty. he moved to a small town in the great state of michigan. [ applause ] they started a business are one

he built by himself, by the way. [ applause ] he raised a family and became mayor of our town. my dad would often remind my brothers and me how fortunate we were to grow up in a place like america. he wanted us to have every opportunity that came with life in this country, and so he pushed us to be our best and give our all. inside the house there were lot of good fathers teaching their sons and daughters the same value. i didn't know it, but one was the dads was my future father in law, george romney. [applause] his dad never graduated from college, he became a carpenter, he worked hard, became the head of a car company then the governor of michigan. when mitt and i met and fell in love we were determined not to let anything stand in the way of our life together. i was episcopalian, he was a

mormon. both still in college. there were many reasons to delay marriage. you know what, we just didn't care. we got married and moved in to a basement apartment. we ate a lot of pasta and tuna fish. our desk was a door propped up on saw horses. our dining room table was a fold down ironing board in the kitchen. those were the best days. then our first son came along, all at once i'm 22 years old with a baby and a husband who is going to business school and law school at the same time. and i can tell you probably like every other girl who finds herself in a new life, far from family and friends, with a new baby and a new husband, that it dawned on me that i had absolutely no idea what i was getting in to. [laughter] that was 42 years

ago, i've survived. we now have five sons and 18 beautiful grandchildren! [ applause ] i'm still in love with that boy i met at a high school dance and he still makes me laugh. [ applause ] i read somewhere that mitt and i have a story book marriage. well, let me tell you something, in the story books i read, there never were long, long rainier afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once. and those stories books never have chapter called m.s. or breast cancer. a story book marriage, nope. not at all. what mitt romney and i have is a real marriage. [ applause ]

i know this good and decent man for what he is. he's warm and loving and patient. he's tried to live his life with a set of values centered on family, faith and love of one's fellow man. from the time we were first married i've seen him spend countless hours helping others. i've seen him drop everything to help a friend in trouble and been there when late night calls of panic come from a member of our church whose child has been taken to the hospital. you may not agree with mitt's decision on issues or politics, by the way massachusetts is only 13% republican so it's not like it's a shock to me, but let me say this to every american who is thinking about who should be our next president.

no one will work harder. no one will care more and no one will move heaven and earth like mitt romney to make this country a better place to live. [ cheering and applause ] it's true, that mitt's been successful at each new challenge he's taken on. you know what it actually amazes me to see his history of success

being attacked. are those really the values that made our country great? >> no! >> as a mom of five boys do we want to raise our children to be afraid of success? >> no! >> do we send our children out in the world with the advice, try to do okay? >> audience: no! >> let's be honest if the last four years had been more successful do we really think there would be this attack on mitt romney's success? >> audience: no! >> of course not. mitt will be the first to tell that you he's the most fortunate man in the world. he had two loving parents who gave him strong values, taught him the value of work. he had the chance to get the education his father never had. but as his partner on this amazing journey i can tell you, mitt romney was not handed success. he built it! [ cheering and applause ]

he stayed in massachusetts after graduate school and got a job. i saw the long hours that started with that first job. i was there. when he had a small group of friends talking about starting a new company. i was there when they struggled and wondered if the whole idea just wasn't going to work. mitt's reaction was to work harder and press on. today that company has become another great american success story. has it made those who started the company successful -- made them successful beyond their dreams? yes, it has. it allowed us to give our sons the chance at good educations and made all those long hours of book reports and homework worth

every minute. it's given us the deep satisfaction of being able to help others in ways that we could never have imagined. this is important. i want to you hear what i'm going to say. mitt doesn't like to talk about how he has helped others because he sees it as a privilege. not a political talking point. [ applause ] we are no different than the millions of americans who quietly help their neighbors, their churches and their communities. they don't do it so that others will think more of them. they do it because there is no greater joy. give and it shall be give enunto

you. [ applause ] but because this is america that small company has jobs they grew to become college education and first homes. that success has helped fund scholarships, pensions and retirement funds. this is the genius of america. dreams fulfilled help others launch new dreams. [ applause ] at every turn in his life this man i met at a high school dance has helped lift up others. he did it with the olympics when many wanted to give up. he did it in massachusetts where he guided the straight from economic crisis to unemployment of just 4.7%. under mitt, massachusetts

schools are the best in the nation. the best. [ applause ] he started something that i really love, he started the john and abigail adams scholarships which gives the top 25% of high school graduates a four-you're tuition free scholarship! [ applause ] this is the man america needs. [ applause ] this is the man who will wake up every day with a determination to solve the problems that others say can't be solved. what others say is beyond repair. this is the man who will work harder than anyone so that we can work a little less hard. i can't tell you what will happen over the next four years, but i can only stand here tonight as a wife and a mother and a grandmother, an american and make you this solemn commitment.

this man will not fail. [ cheering and applause ] this man will not let us down. this man will lift up america. it has been 47 years since that tall, kind of charming young man brought me home from our first dance. not every day since has been easy, but he still makes me laugh and never once did i have a single reason to doubt that i was the luckiest woman in the world tonight. i said tonight i wanted to talk to you about love. look in to your hearts, this is

our country. this is our future. these are our children and grandchildren. you can trust mitt. [ applause ] he loves america. he will take us to a better place, just as he took me home safely from that dance. give him that chance, give america that chance. god bless each and everyone of you and god bless the united states of america. [ cheering and applause ] >> woodruff: the woman who knows mitt romney better than anybody else spent 30 minutes describing not only why she loves him and why he's a great father and a great businessman

and the rest but -- >> ifill: there he is. >> woodruff: he was behind stage the whole time. that was the speech of ann romney's life. this is a woman who loves her husband and who can talk about all the endearing things how they met and raising their family but who is also tough. she looked in to the camera and said, this man will not fail. >> ifill: would not let us down, like president obama. clearly a theme. he is back stage, he flew in to pam that today that was a big moment now we're expecting to have another big moment when keynote speech is to be delivered for chris christie. >> woodruff: this video about the governor of new jersey. >> chris is such a jersey boy and proud of the state and wants the rest of the country to know

how great new jersey is. >> chris, what you see is what you get. >> honest and strong willed. >> high level of integrity. >> there is no one above the law. there is no one immune to the law. >> i was a prosecutor for seven years this much i know. i don't pretend that i have all the answers. but i know how to make decisions, i know how to make things happen. i think if folks believe that they have a group of leaders who are going to say to them, this is what is necessary, it needs to be done, i think the american people and people of new jersey are ready to hear the truth. >> chris christie has done a remarkable job. he's taken this state which was going downhill and he brought it back. people are proud of him, people around the country are talking well of new jersey. chris christie gets a lot of the credit for that. >> thank you for giving me the greatest privilege i'm sure i'll ever have in my life, that's to be the governor of the place where i was born and raised. i'm going to leave here go back

to the state house, i'm going to drive up to that building with the big gold dome on the top and walk in the door and still shake my head, i do, every time. how the hell did this happen? >> the "new york times" calls you one of the most intriguing political figures of our time. >> yeah. go figure. i got sent here to do a job, not on elected prom king. >> i'm passionate about what i believe in. and i also think that the public needs to start being treated like adults. thank you very much. appreciate that. >> you're doing a great job. >> thank you. my mother had a very direct way about her. >> excellent. >> baloney. >> one of the things she said was, just be yourself. because then tomorrow you're not

going to have to worry about who you going to remember. but be who you are. and so this is who i am. [ cheering and applause ] >> thank you! thank you! thank y'all very much. thank you. well, this stage and this moment

are very improbable for me. a new jersey republican! delivering the keynote address to our national convention. from a state with 700,000 more democrats than republicans. a new jersey republican stands before you tonight. proud of my party, proud of my state and proud of my country. [applause] now i am the son of an irish father and sicilian mother. my dad who i'm blessed to have here with me tonight is gregarious, out going and loveable. my mom, who i lost eight years ago was the enforcer. now she made sure we all knew who set the rules.

tells you this way, in the automobile of life, dad was just a passenger. mom was the driver. now, they both lived hard lives. dad grew up in poverty. and after returning from army service he worked at the breyers ice cream bill in the '50s. he put himself through rutgers university at night to become the first in his family to earn a college degree. [ applause ] and our first family picture was on his graduation day with my mom beaming next to him six months pregnant with me. now, mom also came from nothing. she was raised by a single mother who took three different buses every day to get to work. and mom spent the time that she

was supposed to be a kid actually raising children. her younger brother and younger sister. she was tough as nails. and didn't suffer fools at all, the truth was, she couldn't afford to. she spoke the truth. bluntly, directly and without much very anybody. i am her son. [ applause ] i was her son as i listened to darkness on the edge of town with my high school friends on the jersey shore. i was her son when i moved in to that studio apartment with mary pat, the marriage that is now 26 years old. [ applause ] i was her son as i coached our sons, andrew and patrick on the fields and as i watched with pride as our daughter, sarah and

bridgette marched with their soccer teams in the labor day parade. i'm still her son today as governor, following the rules she taught me, to speak from the heart and to fight for your principles, you see, mom never thought you'd get extra credit just for speaking the truth. and the greatest lesson that mom ever taught me was this one, she told me there would be times in your life when you have to choose. between being loved and being respected. now she said, to always pick being respected, she told me that love without respect was always fleeting. but that respect could grow in to real and lasting love. of course she was talking about women. [ laughter ] but i've learned over time that it applies just as much to leadership. in fact i think that advice applies to america more than ever today. [ applause ]

i believe we have become paralyzed by our desire to be loved. our founding fathers had the wisdom to know that social acceptance and popularity were fleeting. and that this country's principles needed to be rooted in strengths greater than the passions and emotions of the times. but our leaders today have decided it's more important to be popular, to say and do what's easy and say, yes, rather than to say, no. when no is what is required. [applause] in recent years we as a country have too often chosen the same path. it's been easy for our leaders to say, not us, not now. taking on the really tough issues. unfortunately we've stood silently by and let them get away with it.

but tonight i say, enough. tonight i say together, let's make a much different choice. tonight we're speaking up for ourselves and stepping up, tonight we're beginning to do what some right and what is necessary to make america great again. [ cheering and applause ] we are demanding that our leaders stop tearing each other down and work together to take action on the big things, facing america. tonight we're going to do what my mother taught me, tonight we're going to choose respect over love. [ applause ] see, we're not afraid. we are not afraid. we're taking our country back because we are the great grandchildren of the men and women who broke their backs in the name of american ingenuity,

the grandchildren of the greatest generation. the sons and daughters of immigrants, the brothers and sisters of every day heroes, the neighbors of entrepreneurs and firefighters, teachers and farmers, veterans and factory workers and everyone in between. who shows up not just on the big days or the good days but on the bad days and the hard days. each and every day. all 365 of them. you see, we are the united states of america! [ cheering and applause ] now it's up to us, we must lead the way our citizens live. to lead as my mother insisted i live. not by avoiding truth, especially the hard ones, but by facing up to them and being

better for it. we can't afford to do anything less. now i know this, because this was the challenge in new jersey. when i came in to office i could continue on the same path that led to wealth and jobs and people leaving our state. or i could do the job people elected me to do, do the big things. now there were those that said it couldn't be done, but the problems were too big, too politically charged and too broken to fix. but we were on a path we could no longer afford to follow. now, they said it was impossible, this is what they told me. to cut taxes in a state where taxes were raised 115 times in the eight years before i became governor. that it was impossible to balance a budget at the same time with $11 bill job deficit but three years later we have three balanced budgets in a row with lower taxes, we did it. [ cheering and applause ]

they said it was impossible to touch the third rail of politics, to take on the public sector unions and to reform a pension and health benefit system that was headed to bankruptcy. but with bipartisan leadership we saved taxpayers $132 billion over 30 years and saved retirees their pension, we did it. [ applause ] they said it was impossible, to speak the truth to the teachers union. they were just too powerful, the real teacher tenure reform that demands accountability and ends the guarantee of a job for life regardless of performance they said it would never happen. but for the first time in 100

years with bipartisan support, you know the answer, we did it. [ applause ] now the disciples of yesterday's politics they always underestimate the will of the people. they assumed our people were selfish, that when told of the difficult problems, the tough choices and the complicated solutions that they would simply turn their backs. that they would decide it was every man for himself. they were wrong. the people of new jersey stepped up, they shared in the sacrifice, you know what else they did? they rewarded politicians who led instead of politicians who pandered. [applause] but you know, we shouldn't be

surprised. eve never been a country to shy away from the truth. our history shows that we stand up when it counts and it's this quality that has defined america's character and our significance in the world. now, i know this simple truth and i am not afraid to say it. our ideas are right for america and their ideas have failed america. [ applause ] let me be clear with the american people tonight. here's what we believe as republicans and what they believe as democrats. we believe in telling hard working families the truth about our country's fiscal realities, telling them what they already know, the math of federal spending does not add up. with $5 trillion in debt and over last four years we have no other option but to make the hard choices, cut federal

spending and fundamentally reduce the size of this government. [ applause ] want to know what they believe? they believe that the american people don't want to hear the truth about the extent of our fiscal difficulties. they need the american people need to be coddled by big government. they believe the american people are content to live the lie with them. they're wrong. we believe in telling our seniors the truth about our over burdened entitlements. we know seniors not only want these programs to survive but they just as badly want them secured for their grandchildren. our seniors are not selfish. [ applause ] here is what they believe.

they believe seniors will always put themselves ahead of their grandchildren, sheer what they do. they prey on their vulnerabilities and scare them with misinformation for the single, cynical purpose of winning the next election. here is their plan. whistle a happy tune while driving us off the fiscal cliff as long as they are behind the wheel of power within thee fall. now, we believe that the majority of teachers in america know our system must be reformed, to put students first so that america can compete. if teachers don't teach to become rich or famous they teach because they love children. we believe -- [ applause ] we believe that we should honor and reward the good ones while doing what is best for our nation's future. demanding accountability, demanding higher standards and demanding the best teacher in every classroom in america.

[ cheering and applause ] get ready. here is what they believe. they believe the educational establishment will put themselves ahead of children. that self-interest will always trump common sense they believe pitting unions against teachers, educators against parents, lobbyists against children. they believe in teachers unions, we believe in teachers. [ applause ] we believe that if we tell the people the truth that they will act bigger than the pettiness we see in washington, d.c.

we believe its possible to forge bipartisan compromise and stand up for our conservative principles. [ applause ] because it's always been the power of our ideas not our rhetoric that attracts people to our party. we win when we make it about what needs to be done, we lose when we play along with their game of scaring and dividing. make no mistake about it everybody, the problems are too big to let the american people lose. the slowest economic recovery in decades, a spiraling out of control deficit and an education system that is failing to compete in the world. it doesn't matter how we got here. there's enough blame to go around. what matters is what we do now. see, i know we can fix our

problems. when there are people in the room who care more about doing the job they were elected to do than they worry about winning re-election it's possible to work together, achieve principle compromise and get results for the people who gave us these jobs in the first place. [ cheering and applause ] the people have no patience for any other way any more. it's simple. we need politicians to care more about doing something and less about being something. [ applause ] and believe me, if we can do this in a blue state like new jersey with conservative republican governor washington, d.c. is out of excuses. [ cheering and applause ]

leadership delivers. leadership counts. leadership matters. here's the great news i came here tonight to bring you, we have this leader for america, we have a nominee who will tell us the truth and who will lead with conviction now he has running mate that will do the same, we have governor mitt romney and congressman paul ryan we need to make them the next president and vice president of the united states! [ cheering and applause ] i know mitt romney, i know mitt romney and mitt romney will tell us the hard truths we need to hear to put us back on path to growth and create good paying,

private sector jobs again in america. mitt romney will tell us the hard truths we need to hear to end the torrent of debt that is compromising our future and burying our economy. mitt romney will tell us the hard truths we need to hear to end the debacle of putting the world's greatest health care system in the hands of federal bureaucrats and putting those bureaucrats to treat american citizens. now, we have an era of absentee leadership without purpose or principle in new jersey. i'm here to tell you tonight it is time to end this era of absentee leadership in the oval office and send real leaders back to the white house. america needs mitt romney and paul ryan and we need them right now! [ cheering and applause ]

now, we got to tell each other the truth, right? listen, there is doubt and fear for our future in every corner of our country. i have traveled all the country and i have seen this myself. these feelings are real, this moment is real. it's a moment like this where some skeptics wonder if american greatness is over. they wonder how those who have come before us as spirit and tenacity to lead america to a new year of greatness in the face of challenge. not to look around say, not me. but to look around say, yes, me. now, have an answer for the skeptics and naysayers the dividers and defenders of the status quo. i have faith in us.

i know we can be the men and women our country calls on us to be tonight. i believe in america and our history there's only one thing missing now. leadership. it takes leadership but you don't get from reading a poll. you see, mr. president, real leaders don't poll polls, real leaders change polls. [ applause ] that's what we need. that's what we need to do now. we need to change polls through the power of our principles. we need to change polls through the strength of our convictions. tonight our duty is to tell the american people the truth, our problems are big and the solutions will not be painless. we all must share in the sacrifice and any leader that tells us differently is simply not telling the truth. [ applause ]

now, i think tonight is the greatest generation, we look back and march at their courage, overcome great depression, fighting nazi tyranny, standing up for freedom. now it's our time to answer history's call. for make no mistake every generation will be judged, but so will we. what will our children and grandchildren say of us, will they say we buried our heads in the sand, we assuaged ourself with the creature comforts we've 'required. that the problems were too big, we were too small that someone else should make a difference because we can't. or wilona say of us, that we stood up and made the tough choices that needed to be made to preserve our way of life, you see i don't know about you, but i don't want my children and grandchildren have to read the history book what it was like to live in an american century. i don't want their only inheritance to be enormous government that is overtaxed, over spent, over borrowed of

great people of second class citizenship. i want them to live in a second american century! [ applause ] a second american century. of strong economic growth where those who are willing to work hard wil will have good paying s to support their families and reach their dreams. a second american century where real american exceptionalism is not a political punch line. when it's evident just by watching the way our government conducts its business every day, the way americans live their lives. a second american century. where military is strong, our values are sure, our work ethic is unmatched and our constitution remains a model for anyone in the world struggling for liberty. [ applause ]

let us choose a path that will be remembered for generations to come, standing strong for freedom will make the next century as great american century as the last one. you see, this is the american way, we haveever been victims of destiny, we have always been the masters of our own. [ applause ] and i know you agree with me on this. i will not be part of the generation that fails that test and neither will you. [ applause ] it's now time to stand up, let's stand up much everybody stand up! because there's no time left to waste. if you're willing to stand up with me for america's future, i will stand up with you. if you're willing to fight with

me for mitt romney, i will fight with you. if you're willing to hear the truth about the hard road ahead and rewards for america, the truth will bear. i'm here to begin with you this new epa of truth telling, tonight. we choose the path that is always defined our nation's history. tonight we finally and firmly answer the call that so many generations have had the courage to answer before us. tonight we stand up for mitt romney as the next president of the united states and together -- [ cheering and applause ] and together everybody together, we will s